The Dance of the Comedians

The People, the President, and the Performance of Political Standup Comedy in America

A lively account of the comedy of politics and the politics of comedy from Artemus Ward to The Daily Show

Peter M. Robinson

Details

Description

Why did Barack Obama court Jon Stewart and trade jokes with Stephen Colbert during the campaign of 2008? Why did Sarah Palin forgo the opportunity to earn votes on the Sunday morning political talk shows but embrace the chance to get laughs on Saturday Night Live? The Dance of the Comedians examines the history behind these questions—the merry, mocking, and highly contested anarchies of standup political comedy that have locked humorists, presidents, and their fellow Americans in an improvisational three-way “dance” since the early years of the American republic.

Peter M. Robinson shows how the performance of political humor developed as a celebration of democracy and an expression of political power, protest, and commercial profit. He places special significance on the middle half of the twentieth century, when presidents and comedians alike—from Calvin Coolidge to Ronald Reagan, from Will Rogers to Saturday Night Live’s “Not Ready for Prime Time Players”—developed modern understandings of the power of laughter to affect popular opinion and political agendas, only to find the American audience increasingly willing and able to get in on the act. These years put the long-standing traditions of presidential deference profoundly in play as all three parties to American political humor—the people, the presidents, and the comedy professionals—negotiated their way between reverence for the office of the presidency and ridicule of its occupants.

Although the focus is on humor, The Dance of the Comedians illuminates the process by which Americans have come to recognize that the performance of political comedy has serious and profound consequences for those on all sides of the punch line.

Reviews

"The Dance of the Comedians is a wonderful book—exceptionally well written, insightful, and serious but fun. By examining America’s political discourse from the perspective of standup comedy, Robinson provides a fresh and revealing look at the dynamics between elected leadership and the public."—LeRoy Ashby, author of With Amusement for All:

A History of American Popular Culture since 1830

"An engaging survey of the delicate balance between respect and ridicule for the presidential office. . . . A scholarly examination of the role humor has played and continues to play in modern American presidential politics, especially recommended for college library collections."—Midwest Book Review

"Peter M. Robinson manages to make the serious study of American humor quite entertaining in his lucid, persuasive, and rigorously researched study of political humor, The Dance of the Comedians. From beginning to end, Robinson constructs a vibrant thread of stories, anecdotes, and historical details that delineates the pervasive influence of humor in American political history."—Sam Girgus, Journal of American History

"Peter M. Robinson adds not only a saavy, outstanding dimension to the pantheon of American humor--his penetrating historical study focuses on political comedy, especially the standup performer--but further stresses humor's centrality in contemporary political life. . . . Robinson's overview of comedic performance at the core of political culture is at once comprehensive, incisive, and vital."—American Historical Review

"Peter M. Robinson . . . manages to make the serious study of American Humor quite entertaining in his lucid, persuasive, and rigorously researched study of political humor. From beginning to end, Robinson constructs a vibrant thread of stories, anecdotes, and historical details that delineates the pervasive influence of humor in American political history."— , Journal of American History

Author

Peter M. Robinson is assistant professor of history, College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati.